Wallabies captain ‘stoked’ to face All Blacks in World Cup as Springboks showdown looms
Wallabies captain 'stoked' to face All Black in World Cup as collision course with Springboks looms
The Wallabies will face the All Blacks in the pool stage of a World Cup for the first time in their history, after being drawn alongside their old rivals in the 2027 draw on Wednesday.
The two-time winners have also been drawn alongside Hong Kong China and Chile in Pool A in the new 24-team, six-pool format devised by World Rugby.
Despite having home advantage, the Wallabies now face a terrifying route to the final should they beat the All Blacks and finish top of their group. If this proves to be the case, then – if they make their way through the newly formed round of 16 – they would likely face the Springboks in the quarter-finals and France in the semis.
Their route as runners-up in Pool A would prove kinder, however. Should they finish second, then they will be thrust into the other half of the knockout draw, where they would face the runner-up of Pool E, which would most likely be Japan, before facing potentially England in the quarters and then either Argentina or Ireland in the semi-final.
No route will be easy, and upsets may prove to alter the above routes, but avoiding the four-time world champions, South Africa, will weigh heavily on the minds of any side wishing to reach the final.
Wallabies’ reaction to the 2027 World Cup draw
- Australia and New Zealand are drawn together in a pool for the first time
- The Wallabies will face a South American team for the fifth time in a pool after Argentina (1991 and 2003) and Uruguay (2015 and 2019)
- Hong Kong China will be the 27th national team to play in a Men’s Rugby World Cup
Wallabies captain Harry Wilson spoke to the media following the announcement. Here’s what he had to say about facing New Zealand: “We’re obviously stoked to get the All Blacks. They’re a team we love versing, we verse them quite a lot. In a World Cup, if you want to win it, you’ve got to beat the best teams and they’re obviously one of the top teams in the world.”
They’ve not had the best record against their old rivals, however, and are currently on an 11-test losing streak against New Zealand.
“Obviously that’s been disappointing but this year in both tests we had opportunities,” continued Wilson.
“The game was there with 15 minutes to go and we didn’t nail them. Hopefully, where we’re going as a team we can keep improving and in the next year or two start winning some of those big moments which we haven’t won so far.
“I know as a group, we know we can beat them. We’ve shown to ourselves how capable we are but we’ve just got to pull together for 80 minutes.”
Looking ahead to a potential match-up with the Springboks in the quarter-final, he added: “There’s a lot of potential paths you can go down, but if we get the Springboks in a quarter-final, it’ll be exciting. It’s a challenge which we’re going to have to be ready for.”
Hong Kong China will be making their first appearance at a World Cup, and Wilson is aware of the dangers of underestimating the opposition.
“I honestly don’t know too much about them, but I’ve got no doubt over the next year and a hal,f they’ll be a team all Australians will be keeping an eye on. When you’ve got them in a World Cup pool stage, you’re going to have to know your teams well.”
Wallabies clash with the All Blacks for the first time in the pool stage
Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies’ current head coach, is looking forward to his side’s clash with the All Blacks, saying: “It’s really exciting. The Wallabies will play [New Zealand] four times in the lead-up, and it gives you a great opportunity to really plot a path to get up and organise for that game.
“I’m excited about the pathway that we can plot in between now and the next time we play New Zealand, but then also beyond that.
“Chile and Hong Kong China, they’re two newcomers that will challenge you in a different way; challenge you to keep that level of performance to a certain height so that when you hit the round of 16, you hit the ground running.”
“I know that Les [Kiss] is pretty excited about where the team can get to … we didn’t have a good November, and it’s impossible to hide that we didn’t have a good November. There were glimpses, though, and we can still build on those glimpses after a bit of an emotional rollercoaster of a year.
“Les is pretty excited to get started. Had a couple of good conversations with him today.”